Google and Skype in Startup to Link Hotspots

An anonymous reader writes "Google and Skype are investing in a new startup (FON, the Spanish startup) that plans to help hotspot owners charge for Wi-Fi access points. The plan outlines two different classes of customer; "Linus" members, named after Linus Torvalds, will share their hotspot with other Linus members for free and "Bill" members, named after Microsoft's Bill Gates, will charge for access to their hotspot. FON will get some of that revenue, and share it with ISPs."

Comments

Re:geek pride

[nettdata]

Nope.

I think it's a great way to introduce people to Linux and the concept that there is something other than the "Microsoft Way".

Those of us that know what it means will chuckle, those of them that don't will ask "where'd the names come from?".

I think it's fantastic.

Sure as hell beats the standard marketing bullshit naming schemes that seem to be everywhere, IMO.

Re:This is annoying

[raju1kabir]

Starbucks makes so much money selling drinks and other crap, they could easily give it away. Don't even give me that crap that people would sit all day and surf. Some would, but they would be in the vast minority.

In this country (Malaysia), wifi is free at Starbucks. I don't really see anyone with a laptop who doesn't also have a drink-in-progress. People (myself included) order something every hour or so, and at those prices, that's surely keeping them in business.

After hours it's a different story. Many of the Starbucks near me have primarily outdoor seating, and when they shut at 1 or 2am, strange characters show up with decal-coated laptops and do mysterious things late into the night. If this really bothered the management, presumably they would turn off the access point or bring in the chairs at closing time.

Mesh networks

[fruey]

A tough part of any agreement like this is, just like the article states, to actually get people to work together and provide access. There is an interesting perspective on how it might need a radical group who do it for kicks in Cory Doctorow's novel "Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town" to get things moving.

Personally, I think a time will come when WiFi access is very common, and some kind of roaming agreement between providers will cause your access to be metered by your ISP wherever you are.

Trivia: Did you know that practically the entire Internet infrastructure in Haiti is wireless?

Re:Competition

[Jussi K. Kojootti]

Well, the current ISP contracts are incompatible with this, but I'm not sure the are, or should be, terrified: A plan like this is based on every member having an internet connection -- if the linus model were succesful, it would actually be an incentive for buying an internet connection (value added without any work by the ISP!).

Convincing the ISPs to change their contracts now (before this has had a chance to grow to the point where the value added actually matters) is another matter...

Re:What can they offer me I can't do myself?

[JTL21]

When someone uses your connection for spamming/hacking/child porn or other illegal purposes you have some proof that:

a) other people use that network connection rather than just you
b) FON will know who they are and have contact details for them

That is the reason I don't share my connection, fear that at some point I will have to prove my innocence and what I HAVEN'T done. We all know how hard it is to PROVE a negative is such cases.